Jennifer E. Johnson, PhD

Chair, Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health<br />C.S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health<br />University Distinguished Professor<br />Professor of OBGYN<br />Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

"The universe in me calls out to the universe in you - We are one," E. Hill De Loney,
Flint Community Partner, pictured on the right.

Dr. Jennifer E. Johnson is the founding Chair of the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, University Distinguished Professor, and the first C. S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health at Michigan State University. She is also the Chief Translation Officer in the Office of Health Sciences at Michigan State University and a professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, and professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at MSU.

Dr. Johnson is a licensed clinical psychologist who conducts policy-relevant mental health, suicide prevention, and maternal health care implementation and effectiveness research. Her work champions health care access and equity for individuals interacting with criminal-legal systems, pregnant and postpartum people, and people living in disinvested communities such as Flint, Michigan. She has been a principal investigator of 21 research studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, including the National Center for Health and Justice Integration for Suicide Prevention (NCHATS) and the Maternal Health Multilevel Interventions for Racial Equity (MIRACLE) Center of Research Excellence in Women’s Health.

Johnson received her bachelor’s degree in applied physics and doctorate in clinical psychology from Brigham Young University. She then completed a T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Treatment Research at Brown University, where she was faculty until coming to Michigan State University in 2015.

Select Publications

Johnson, J. E., Wiltsey-Stirman, S., Sikorskii, A., Miller, T., Poleshuck, E., Moore Simas, T. A., Carravallah, Miller, R., & Zlotnick, C. (2025). Outcomes of the ROSE Sustainment (ROSES) Study, a sequential multiple assignment randomized implementation trial to determine the minimum necessary intervention to sustain a postpartum depression prevention program in agencies serving low-income pregnant people. Implementation Science, 20, 9.

Johnson, J. E., Clement, J., Sikorskii, A., Loree, A., Vander Meulen, M., Roman, L., Dearing, J. W., Bolder, H., McCoy White, J., Sokol, R., & Meghea, C. (2025). A cluster randomized stepped wedge implementation trial of scale-up approaches to ending pregnancy-related and -associated morbidity and mortality disparities in 12 Michigan counties: Rationale and study protocol. Implementation Science Communications, 6(1), 19.

Johnson, J. E., Ramezani, N., Viglione, J., Hailemariam, M., Taxman, F. S. (2024). Recommended mental health practices for individuals interacting with police, court, jail, probation, and parole in the U.S. Psychiatric Services, 75(3): 246-257.

Miller, T. R., Weinstock, L. M., Ahmedani, B. K., Carlson, N. N.., Sperber, K., Cook, B., Taxman, F. S., Arias, S. A., Kubiak, S., Dearing, J. W., Waehrer, G. M., Barrett, J. G., Hulsey, J., & Johnson, J. E. (2024). Share of U.S. adult suicides in 2019 preceded by recent jail release: Cohort estimates derived from meta-analytic data. JAMA Network Open. 7(5), e249965.

Johnson, J. E., Loree, A. M., Sikorskii, A., Miller, T. R., Carravallah, L., Taylor, B., & Zlotnick, C. (2023). Study protocol for the ROSE Scale-Up Study: Informing a decision about ROSE as universal postpartum depression prevention. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 132, 107297. NIHMS1922709

Johnson, J. E., Price, A. B., Sikorskii, A., Kent, K., Taylor, B., Lamphere, S., Huff, C., Cinader, M., & Zlotnick, C. (2022). Protocol for the Healing After Loss (HeAL) Study: A randomized controlled trial of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for major depression following perinatal loss. BMJ Open, 12, e057757. open access, PMC9020310.

Johnson, J. E., Viglione, J., Ramezani, N., Cuellar, A. E., Hailemariam, M., Rosen, R., Breno, A., & Taxman, F. (2021). Protocol for a quasi-experimental, 950 county study examining implementation outcomes and mechanisms of Stepping Up, a national policy effort to improve mental health and substance use services for justice-involved individuals. Implementation Science, 16, 31.

Johnson, J. E., Stout, R. L., Miller, T., R., Zlotnick, C., Cerbo, L. A., Andrade, J. T., Nargiso, J., Bonner, J., Wiltsey-Stirman, S. (2019). Randomized cost-effectiveness trial of group interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for prisoners with major depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87(4), 392-406.

Select Media Coverage

The New York Times: Depression During and After Pregnancy Can Be Prevented, National Panel Says. Here’s How
The Conversation: As Reopening Begins in Uncertain Coronavirus Times, You Need Emotional Protective Equipment, Too
ScienceDaily: How to Treat Depression in Prison -- and Why it Matters
Michigan Radio: MSU Study Looks for More Cost-Effective Way to Treat Depression Among Prison Inmates
National Institute of Mental Health: Embracing the SPIRIT of Reducing Suicide
The Washington Times: $6.8M for Study Aims to Reduce Suicides After Jail Time
mLIVE: Meet the First Two Michigan State University Researchers Coming to Flint

Scheduling: For inquiries, please contact Morgan Flees, fleesmor@msu.edu, 810-600-9126.

Jennifer E. Johnson, PhD

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Scholarly Interests

Publications